Behind My Cracked Mask
by ScarletPetals
Summary: Sakura holds a secret that has been kept oblivious to her friends; including her closest ones, her dear teammates. Even she, herself, isn't completely clear on the secret. How will the two most important people in her life respond if they ever find out, and if it'll create or break the friendship bonds that she's tried so hard at obtaining?


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Behind My Cracked Mask**

**Chapter 1**

**- _First Impressions_**

* * *

_______Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. ...Beep... ...Beep..._

_"Darling, don't let go, please!" A young man crouched over his wife's lifeless body on the hospital bed, sobbing. He held her hand as if he was gripping onto the last strands of life. Five or six people, each clad in white which consisted of surgeons and nurses, crowded around the room, each operating on her fragile body. The electrocardiogram's beeps became slower and slower as minutes passed by. __A nurse took immediate notice and she roughly pushed aside the weeping husband._

_"Mr. Haruno, we need you to wait outside." _

_"Wha- but.." He refused the first few times, but then eventually gave up, succumbing and stepping outside, but not before catching a last glimpse of his wife. He instantly slid down against the wall to the floor and stuck his palms to his forehead in distress. He began whispering incomprehensible words to himself, catching the attention of most of the hospital employees passing by. Every few minutes, he would walk back to the door and attempt to re-enter, only to find that it was locked._

_An hour had passed before the door to the hospital room was opened. A few surgeons stepped outside, finding the man in the same spot and position from when he was escorted out. They whispered silent words to each other before one walked towards the anxious man and helped him stand up. They allowed him entrance to the dark room where a nurse blocked the view of his wife. Her eyes were saddened, and it thoroughly confused the man._

_"..I'm sorry." She whispered quietly in his ear before stepping aside and letting him grasp the scene in front of him._

_A white tarp covered the lifeless body laying on the hospital bed. The surgeons and nurses spread out around the bed, encircling it. All of their heads were faced towards the ground as if they were ashamed._

_"We did all that we could." One spoke, breaking through the silent atmosphere. The man stood petrified, his eyes glued to the electrocardiogram's persistent beep. There were no pauses between the monotone warning noises, and he could clearly identify a straight green horizontal line on the black screen. His lips quivered, trying to grasp the situation._

_A nurse from the back stepped in front of the others, holding something in her arms. It was crying and enveloped in thick, pink fabric. She stood inches away from the man, holding her arms out, allowing him to grasp the petite infant._

_"Though, we were able to save her," The nurse looked at the infant with a smile on her sad, sad face. "Congratulations."  
_

_Her cries softened as he held her in his arms. Tears immediately streamed down his cheeks as he let a finger loom over her's, where she grasped and pulled gently, creating a reaction. He eyed her gentle features of light pink hair that grew in fuzzy strands atop her head. Every few moments, she would crack open her eyes, uncovering a rich, deep emerald color._

_Although he had lost the life of his wife; his lover, he had also gained one. One that he would nurture, protect, and raise. That would have been his wife's last wishes. He gripped the baby tighter, and silently thanked the nurse._

* * *

_The sun was blazing down on the event that occurred below. The people who attended were clad in black and white, heads pointed down and hands gripped together. It ranged from the elderly to a single infant. In the crowd of black, there was a single pink blanket wrapped around a silent baby, held in the arms of her father. All of the attendees were relatives and friends of her mother, but not her father. He had lost his family long ago in a fire, forced to be alone in the big, big world. He was the last heir to the Haruno clan, taking responsibility to keep it alive. He knew none of the people at the funeral other than his one and only child. They isolated him and his baby, glaring nasty looks at them, claiming his wife's death to be all his fault. He knew it was. He blamed himself for the situation he was in right now. He has faced many deaths of close relatives and friends throughout his lifetime, but this was the death of his lover. The woman who he had thought he would spend the rest of his life with. The one person that he never regretted meeting. It made him emotionally unstable on the inside, giving him murderous thoughts. The only thing that kept him alive was the last thing that his wife left him, and it slept quietly in his arms._

_He looked down at the infant snuggled in his arms. It had been a week since her mother's death, and she knew nothing of it. Tears flooded down his cheeks as he gently stroked her soft pink fuzz atop her head. Cherry blossoms fluttered past them, carried by the brief breeze that swept throughout the cemetery. The man stared at the soft, pink petals that landed on the fabric enveloping his child, and a single word came to mind._

_"Sakura," He spoke softly. "My dear, dear Sakura."_

* * *

_Mr. Haruno was found dead a week after his wife's funeral. His body was recovered from the edge of the Fire Country border between Sound. He was a man from the Hidden Leaf Village, Konoha, located in Fire Country. He was sent on an A-rank mission to retrieve important documents, but failed. He died for the honor of Konoha. He was known to not have any living family member at the time other than his single 2 week-old daughter. They have confirmed her safety and located her in Konoha. As of right now, the head Hokage has made accommodations for her living expenses and health, only until a foster parent is willing to take her in, or when she has grown to the age of 18 when she is able to receive her inheritance.  
_

"Ah, what a poor girl." remarked a man reading documents from the Hokage's office.

"She lost both her parents, and no one is even volunteering to take her in?" questioned another.

"I heard it's because of her unusual.. features." he answered.

"That's absurd."

"No no, I'm serious. She has hair the color of pink dango!" he continued, "and green eyes!"

"That _would_ be difficult to keep hidden, if she's going to become a ninja." one commented.

"Yes, it would be." the other agreed, and they both nodded their heads.

After a brief silence, they moved onto another subject while rummaging through more documents in the cabinets.

* * *

_10 years later._

* * *

_Ring. Ring. _ I violently slapped my alarm as it annoyingly continued its loud insistent ringing.

"Ughh." I groaned into the bed sheets, promising myself an extra 5 minutes as I laid with my face shoved into my pillow, hoping to block the noise atop my bedside desk. After what seemed like _ages, _the ringing stopped, though the pounding inside my skull didn't. I kept myself lazily upon my bed until I felt that it was time to get up. After all, I'd see _him _today. I dazedly lifted my head up to take a peek at what the time was only to find that it was six fifty-two. I plopped my head back onto my soft, plushpillow and began to close my eyes-

"SIX FIFTY-TWO?!" THE ACADEMY STARTS AT SEVEN O' CLOCK! Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. I clumsily fell out of bed only to find myself on the hard, cold, wood floors. As soon as I positioned myself up again, I ran towards my closet, pulling out my signature red dress with the short sleeves and quickly zipped it on. Sprinting to the bathroom, I grabbed the nearest brush I could find and combed out the most conspicuous knots. After brushing my teeth, I ran out the front doors of my apartment building and towards the academy that sat in the middle of town.

* * *

_Bam!_ The door slammed open as I stood at the doorway of the classroom, heavily panting. All eyes bored straight into me and I could feel their degrading looks as they began whispering with their neighbors. Even in my perspective, my appearance was quite haggard with my wind ruffled hair in tangles and my dress in wrinkles. It bothered my ego a bit, as I always plan to look my best when arriving at the academy everyday. After all, there was one special someone that I look forward to every morning. He's the one that drives me to wake up every sunrise, and the one I hope to see in my dreams every sunset. I tilted my head upwards where I could get a better glance at the classroom and my eyes immediately drove to the same exact spot, everyday. The middle of the classroom on the side where the window sits, flooding sunshine from the outdoors. That's where _he _always sat. I could see him clearly, as it seemed like he was illuminated by the light from the window. His head was pointed towards the wall beside him, his face plastered with his usual bored look. He had hair of the darkest obsidian color, and eyes of faded coal. He always had unblemished skin, almost as if he were a porcelain doll. I could see a few girls crowded near and constantly taking peeks at him. I wouldn't blame them. After all, he had perfect grades, perfect skills, and a perfect face. It was as if he had come out of a romance fantasy. Every girl adored him. He was an idol. _Sasuke Uchiha._

I stared at him intently for a few moments, as if I wished that he would look back at me. Alas, that only occurs in my dreams. His face was _still_ glued to the wall next to him. I sighed, though it wasn't like I was expecting anything spectacular today either.

I noticed an empty slot beside him on his right, and quickly trotted over, claiming it mine. Well, today certainly did get better. I was sitting next to the boy who I admired the most. I slid on my cutest expression, hoping to catch his attention, as I grabbed pencils and notebooks from my bag. Iruka-sensei walked in, and luckily he was a few minutes late. Otherwise, I would been marked tardy and I can't have that on my record. He began teaching class, lecturing us about the basics of being a ninja and whatnot. I tried to keep my concentration on his words, but they just flew right through me. The only thing my brain could focus on was whether the raven haired boy would notice me at all.

After the first 15 or so minutes of class, a loud thudding noise could be heard outside of the hallways. Everyone's attention averted towards the sliding door where the footsteps grew louder and louder until it suddenly stopped at the doorway. The door slid open, and a blonde-haired boy stepped in the classroom. Silence filled the room, as everyone looked at him with confusion at first, but they recognized him shortly after. Iruka-sensei looked at him with a hint of humiliation, but gestured his hand for the boy to sit down. Once again, whispers could be heard all around me.

"It's that Uzumaki kid. This is probably the hundredth time he's been late this year," a girl giggled to her friend.

"What a loser, he can't even get to class on time," remarked a boy.

"He's the failure of our class. I can't believe he got into our grade."

"I heard the Hokage's taking care of him. Maybe that's how he got in the academy."

This boy was familiar. Though, I've never talked to him before, as he was always either late to class, or he never even showed up. From what I've heard, apparently he's bad luck. For some reason, I've never seen him with a friend, nor with any family before. He was different from everyone else, mainly because of his.. tattoos on his cheeks that look like whiskers. He keeps claiming that they aren't face paint or anything of that sorts, but then again, I've never really talked to him. I don't really know much about him, but I always see the people in class isolating him. At times, I feel sorry for him, yet I never do anything to stop it.

He solemnly walked up the steps towards where the seats were and whipped his head around, looking for an empty space. Eventually he found one, and it happened to be the one right next to me.

He quietly paced over and gestured his hands at it while asking a question, "Hey, can I sit here?"

I paused for a moment, processing that he was talking to me and quickly nodded my head. I moved myself a bit to my left, leaving him space to sit down. After the little commotion, Iruka-sensei returned to his lecture. I craned my head over towards my left, where Sasuke sat, his chin still resting on the palm of his hand and looking out the window. He looked bored as ever, the same as he would any ordinary day. I turned towards my right and found the blonde-haired boy.. asleep! How?! How was he already asleep?! It was roughly 3 minutes after he entered the classroom and I find him immediately asleep! Maybe this was why everyone was calling him a failure; because he was always sleeping through Iruka-sensei's lectures!

I looked at him in his slumped over position and back at Iruka-sensei, seeing how he hasn't even noticed a sleeping student in his class yet. Especially the one that was 15 minutes late. I took a pencil and began to-

"Alright class! I have an announcement!" Iruka-sensei blared. "Since the school year's almost over, we'll be assigning 3-man teams to everyone,"

Everyone's heads lifted up in excitement as the teacher began filing through papers atop his podium.

"After calling out the teams, your sensei's will meet with you shortly if not today," he explained.

"First, Shino Auburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka." They all looked at each other across the room, eyeing their teammates down. Shino simply returned to shuffling his sleeves around, keeping his.. bugs in tact. Kiba allowed his eyes to wander throughout the whole room before he saw who he would work with. Hinata shyly peeked over her shoulder to spot her new partners before immediately whipping her head back in embarrassment.

"Second, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Shikamaru Nara." Choji continued chomping on his chips loudly, without even paying attention. Ino just flung her head upwards, as if she was too good to be partnered with them, and Shikamaru acted just as normal and uttered, "How troublesome."

"Third, Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Rock Lee." Some sighs could be heard, though Rock Lee's cry of excitement obliterated their silent complaints.

"Fourth, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," I turned my head to the side, and found the now-awake boy. _He_ was going to be _my _teammate? Not noticing my wide-eyed surprised face, Iruka-sensei continued on, "and Sasuke Uchiha." I faced the anti-social boy to my left and found him to be staring straight at the teacher intently. It was as if he _didn't _want to be in our team. It hurt my ego a bit, though it wasn't like he really _knew _me at all.

Iruka-sensei continued calling names which just became a blur of words to me after already receiving all the information that I needed to know.

* * *

Class was dismissed shortly after, and as I was just right about to head back home-

"Hey!" A blonde-haired boy called out to me. I pivoted around to face him directly, before pausing and blurting out a response.

"Hello-"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be the Hokage one day!" He jabbed his thumb at his chest, proudly wearing a big smile on his cheeks.

I stood dumbstruck by his enthusiasm on something that came out of nowhere.

"That's nice but, why're you telling me this..?" I questioned, thoroughly confused.

"Well, because! You're my new teammate, right? So I should tell you my name and what I wanna be!" He happily replied.

Beginning to understand, I responded, "Well, okay, then I'm Sakura." A gentle smile played over my face, trying to be friendly.

"Hey! Your name matches your hair! That's pretty cool!" He worded everything he said with great enthusiasm. I certainly didn't expect him to have this type of side to his personality. Last time I saw him, he was quiet and solemn.

I saw him then run over towards the dark-haired boy still crouched at the corner to introduce himself.

From afar, I could hear a clear, "Hey!" and a, "My name's Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna be the Hokage one day! That over there's-"

"Like I care." The Uchiha coldly interrupted.

I could see Naruto's face cringe at his response and retorted, "Hey, I was just trying to be friendly! Anyway, we're your teammates now, so you should start acting like one too!"

"You should shut up because I can take care of myself just fine. I don't need _teammates_ to help me achieve my goal." He ended the conversation with that, and left the room bluntly. Yes, I knew that he was anti-social, but I didn't know that he was _that _rude. It hindered all of his other qualities that drove the girls wild. I don't think that they were aware of his personality; otherwise they wouldn't be chasing him everywhere.

Naruto suddenly came running back to me and fussed, "Geez, who shoved a twig up his ass?" before he began another subject, "Oh well, forget about him, you should come with me to Ichiraku's! They have the _best _ramen there!"

I contemplated his offer, taking in the fact that I didn't really have much to do back at my place. It always felt so empty and dark there, but I eventually grew accustomed to the gloominess that filled every room. Though, it _would _be nice to make some friends at the academy. After all, I'd be seeing Naruto probably everyday now that we're teammates.

Apparently I didn't give him a quick response, and it made Naruto awkwardly pause and blurt out, "I.. uh, sorry, if you don't want to go, that's fine too! I was just thinking.. since I go there everyday after-school and-"

"I'll come with you." I quickly agreed, hoping I didn't give him a wrong impression, and together we walked down the streets to the local ramen shop.

* * *

The rest of the school year flew by quickly, as I made myself a pair of new friends.. well, one; I didn't know what the _other _recognized me as, since Mister I-hate-socializing-with-other-human-beings was being a rude prick the whole time. Technically, I was too scared to confront him myself, but Naruto was constantly in raging arguments with him. I simply watched their battles from behind, hoping that we'll somehow make it through as a team in the future.

* * *

A few days after school was released and the summer heat began its raid on us, I received a letter under my door. It was small, clean, and white. It looked like any ordinary letter that I've gotten, but I knew something was different. It had no mailing address to who it was for and where it came from, raising my suspicions. Obviously it was for me, as all my neighbors knew I was the only living inhabitant in this apartment complex; excluding the landlord. Though, I didn't have many neighbors, but the few that were, they consisted of mostly elderly grandmother's and father's that lived on the outskirts of the bustling village. I couldn't imagine why any of them would mail me anything; I usually minded my own business and didn't bother theirs.

Slowly gripping the pristine letter in my hands and moving towards the kitchen counter where the scissors hid, I swiftly ripped the outer covering of the simple paper off. I eyed the words on the letter and didn't find much. All it said was:

_Meet underneath the bridge by the southern gate by 6:00 A.M. on Saturday morning._

The handwriting looked swift and clean, as if whoever wrote it, didn't give much thought to it. It didn't address to anyone in particular, and it wasn't signed by anyone either. Confused, I contemplated on whether she should follow this letter's instructions, or ignore it completely. Although it raised my suspicions, it also roused my curiosity. Maybe this was a secret admirer? I blushed at the thought, but quickly drove the idea away. Whoever it was, they now knew where I lived. This worried me, because what if they were a killer? Well, this _was _a ninja village. It wouldn't be so surprising. Though, I should point out, that whoever wrote this, actually expected me to wake up at 6 in the morning? On a _Saturday morning? _Clearly, they were crazy for asking this of someone like me, who enjoyed sleeping in._  
_

Oh well, I guess that I _could _give it a try. But whoever it is, they better not be expecting me to show up at 6.

* * *

The misty fog that enveloped this side of the village was thick. _Really, really thick. _I could barely see past 3 feet of wherever I stood. I wondered what time it was, considering that I had to tread my way slowly through this thick fog. The last thing I remember was myself waking up at 5:45, and leaving the apartment at around 5:50. Luckily, the bridge wasn't very far away from where I lived, so I knew the path pretty well. It would've probably been a 15 minute walk, but with this fog..

Eventually finding my way, I could see the faded outline of the bridge that crossed over the shallow stream that flowed gently beneath it. The stream faded away and plunged into the nearby bathhouse, where I regularly spotted an old man with white hair crouching upon the rocks, peering while furiously scribbling in a small notebook. He wasn't here today, or rather, _yet. _ I ambled closer towards the red and tan bridge, paint already chipping from old age. I arrived somehow on time, seeing as I usually _never _wake up this early on my weekends. I guess it was curiosity that had gotten the best of me after all.

Edging closer, I spotted two shadowy figures that were casually seated atop the fencing on the bridge. They were widely spread apart and I could see both of their heads pointed at different directions. I couldn't hear any speech between the two, figuring that the fog shouldn't tamper with my hearing. Eventually I got close enough to see that.. they were both of my teammates! Naruto and Sasuke sat away from each other, barely slipping off the edge of the bridge. They looked both annoyed as ever, well, until I arrived in their line of sight.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered in my direction after noticing me. He quickly jumped off the pillar and sprinted towards to greet me. I could notice Sasuke's gaze flicker at me for barely a second before he returned to his stoic position.

"Man, Sakura-chan, was it you that sent this letter?" Naruto sheepishly handed me a slip of white paper from his pocket and pointed his finger at the few words that laced it. "I mean, I would kinda understand if you did.. but why'd you invite _that _bastard?!" He then pointed back at the annoyed Uchiha. I ignored his second statement and kept my eyes on the simple, short sentence.

_Meet underneath the bridge by the southern gate by 6:00 A.M. on Saturday morning. _

"I didn't send this," I replied, "See? I got the same letter." I shuffled around for the same slip of paper in my pocket. I pulled it out shortly after and showed him my proof.

He stared for a moment, confused and concluded, "Well, the _bastard _got the same letter too. I guess someone wants the whole team here then." I flinched for a moment at Naruto's so-called nickname for Sasuke. Yes, it _did _upset me a little, but I _did_ have to agree with him too. His personality wasn't his greatest quality, after all. I quickly focused my mind back onto the conversation that we were having.

"Yeah, but who?" I questioned, suspicious about this unscheduled meeting. Naruto merely shrugged his shoulders, clearly having thought about the possible suspects. We began walking back to the bridge talking about who would send us these letters and proceeded towards where the constantly ticked-off Sasuke lay. When I reached his side of the bridge, he didn't do so much as greet me, but ask me with the same question Naruto had asked me, "So, you aren't the one sending the letters, are you?"

Sighing, I replied, "No, no I'm not."

He responded with a simple, "Hn." and returned back to staring through the fog. It seemed as if his piercing obsidian gaze alone could see everything, penetrating through the thick mist. I had always admired him for his intellectual poise, his mature, dark features, and his flawless ability at performing jutsus. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. Yes, it made me happy that we were assigned on the same team, but after being with him for around a month.. It was rare to encounter him actually responding to either Naruto or me. Mainly because we'd usually get the normal, elusive reply of, "_Hn._" From afar, he may look like the perfect student, one that would drive all the girls wild (which he did), but when you were forced to start a conversation with him, he would become the most confidential and secretive person ever. He wouldn't tell anyone anything about him, and he wouldn't even care to listen to what you were like. He isolated _himself._ I guess this is what you'd call, '_Never judge a book by its cover._' It certainly fit his criteria.

Even though he usually treated us like crap, it somehow roused my curiosity. I mean, no one should be able to whack off human interaction like whacking a fly without some traumatic incident that occurred to them. It made me wonder about his past, what he went through, those type of things. It felt like there was always this wall that blockaded everything away from him. He would draw me closer and closer to his flame, and then suddenly flick me off, as if all my hard work was wasted. Thinking about those times now, I probably wasn't even close to the truth. He was too enigmatic. I knew next to _nothing_ about Sasuke Uchiha. I don't remember a time when he willingly gave me any personal information about him, and when he did, it was usually from simple observation. I didn't think that anyone would be _born _an uncaring, rude prick. Something had to have happened for him to act this way towards people, and I was determined to find out what it was, whether it be big or small.

* * *

Hours slowly passed by, Naruto and I sat on the pillars chatting about anything that suddenly came to mind, while Sasuke just laid on the other side, staring into the sky with those faded charcoal eyes. The sun was already rising, because I could feel the illuminating heat slowly behind my back. Seriously, _who _was it that was going to meet us here? I was beginning to doubt that this letter was legitimate and that someone was just playing a prank on us, just to see how long we'd sit here and wait.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a dark-haired boy gradually rise from his former position and pat his pants down, to get rid of loose dirt. I craned my neck towards him, seeing what he was doing.

Eventually, through slow motions, he finally concluded, "I'm done wasting my time here. I have things to get back to."

Naruto ignored his comment and continued to stare off into space, oblivious to his teammate leaving. I considered leaving too, but looking back at the letter, it didn't look like it was a prank. It looked like whoever wrote this was serious about the arranged meeting, but maybe.. forgot? I surely hoped they didn't, as I was wasting precious hours of the day. I wanted to continue waiting just a bit more to see if maybe the person who sent the letter had just gotten the times wrong. I didn't want the person showing up and finding that one of the people that they invited _left._

"Wait-" I began-

"We've been waiting here for _3 hours. _ I highly doubt anyone's going to show up." He deadpanned.

"But maybe if we-"

"Look, no one's coming. There's no way that someone would be 3 hours la-"

_Poof! _A giant puff of gray smoke engulfed all three of us, leaving us in exasperated coughs and wheezes. The smoke cleared minutes after it was unleashed, and out emerged a tall, man with silver hair that spiked upwards, held by his shinobi Leaf headband. After taking a better glance at him, I found that his face was practically covered, excluding his right eye. His mask concealed up to the bridge of his nose and disappeared beneath his shirt that was covered by his green jounin vest. His Leaf Village headband slid over his left eye, while seemingly holding up that gigantic silver hair of his. There was a small book held in his hand, open for only him to see the contents. He took a step closer to us as we all simply stared at him with confusion.

He eyed us conspicuously before crinkling his only visible eye and spoke with a clear voice, "Hello kiddos. Seems like you guys all received my letter, I presume?"

* * *

_Wow, I've been updating a lot lately. This story plot just popped into my head one night and I just felt like writing about it. For once, I'm taking things slow and starting from the beginning. I hope none of the characters are too OOC, but it's hard since I have to write from an empty, yet Sakura-like approach. I didn't want her a way-over-the-top obsessive fangirl about Sasuke in my story plot so I hope that she isn't in this one. She's just a curious, innocent girl. :D Ohyeah, and I know that this isn't how they REALLY met their sensei, but it's my story plot now. Muahaha. Well, that and the fact that I was too lazy to re-watch or read the series from the beginning. Anyways, tell me what you think if anyone actually reads this story.. Also, I have no idea what genre to stick this in. D: So sorry if I didn't fulfill your deepest fantasies and dreams._


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